Letters to the Editor published Saturday, July 31, 2010

Concerning your article on people cleaning up after their dogs in the ball field (Pilot, July 24); don’t forget who you are talking to.

These are the people who think it’s okay to let their dogs out at night to mess on their neighbors lawns and to run the neighborhood, giving no thought to how hard people work on their yards to keep them nice. These same people, mind you, who actually don’t hear their dogs barkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbark at all hours of the day and night, annoying the neighborhood.

So, good luck with asking them to clean up after their loose dogs in a ball field.

Tom Mosdell

Brookings

Thanks for helping local softball team

Editor:

Hello Brookings, Harbor and Gold Beach. I would like to tell you about a group of talented young ladies, 13-14 years of age, who have been sacrificing their weekends and most of their summers for the last several years for a dedication to a sport they love and enjoy.

These girls love to play softball and have traveled to Grants Pass, Central Point, Medford, Eugene, Newburg, Portland, and other locations several times over the last five to six years to participate in Little League and ASA softball tournaments to hone their skills. Well, the time and effort they have been putting in has paid off with the team winning the Oregon State Little League Title!

The team, with a gathering of parents, attended the State Tournament in Pendleton, Oregon, July 17-22. This is the first time a softball team from our area has won the State Tournament! These girls are making history and are putting Brookings, Harbor and Gold Beach, Oregon on the map! The Junior girls are now slated to participate in the Little League Regional Tournament in Tucson, Arizona on August 4th!

The team has already begun to raise funds for their venture and needs continued assistance.

All donations are tax deductible under the local Little League. Donations can be made out to Brookings Harbor Little League and can be directed to Willy Goergon 541-661-3709 or myself 541-661-1367.

Thank you for your support for OUR local girls!

Deanna Marrington

Brookings

Proof of disaster facing us so far

Editor:

Chestnuts are not just for Christmas; you can see the old ones plus some new ones at election time too:

a. The RACIST explained: a racist is a person who doesn’t agree with you. Don’t agree? One political party pulls this chestnut out at any time. Fair or factual? Of course not.

b. The BOOGEY MAN will take away your Social Security: another perennial chestnut by one political party: it’s never been true, just scare tactics.

c. THEY don’t know economics: a new chestnut brought on by the disastrous Obamaomics that the G-20 has now rejected. Who isn’t discussing, but just attacking with mindless slogans (chestnuts).

d. Republicans are the party of NO: a newer chestnut but a big whopper too; when you cut out any talk you get mindless decisions by neophytes with too much power.

e. Only the rich get tax breaks? 80 percent of tax relief went to under $250,000 wage earners: if you don’t pay taxes, you are on the government dole (supported by people who do pay taxes). Who said I’m in charge now, but blames everyone but himself for his disastrous errors?

Congress is presently governed by one party that has given up its Constitutional checks and balances to a person who has never run a business nor worked in the private sector: the proof of the disaster facing us is in the performance so far – not the chestnuts.

Doug Bewall

Gold Beach

Art Robinson is a promising candidate

Editor:

Dr. Robinson kept his promise to return to Brookings for a third meeting with the public.

He spoke on Wednesday at the Best Western Beachfront Inn in Harbor.

In the questions and answers after his presentation, Congressional Candidate Art Robinson made a new promise. If given the privilege to represent this, the fourth Congressional District of Oregon, he will not vote for any proposed legislation that contains pork. That being the case I, for one, promise to vote for Dr. Robinson.

Those wanting details of Dr. Robinson’s positions on the issues are encouraged to contact him at: Art Robinson for Congress, P.O Box 1250, Cave Junction, OR. 97523 or by phone (541_) 255-2785.

Tom Anderson

Brookings

Illegally entering U.S. is breaking the law

Editor:

I have been listening to the arguments regarding border security and the illegal immigration of “undocumented workers.”

One of the most noteworthy opinions of our more liberal citizens is, “They are only coming across the border to support their family.” I don’t care. I know that sounds heartless, but frankly I don’t care.

Nobody has the right to break the law. If we turn a blind eye or at least a wink and a nod to lawlessness where is the line? Does it make it OK to murder someone because they were raising a garden and you were hungry? Is it OK to steal someone’s car because you need a ride to work?

Breaking the law, and make no mistake, illegally entering this country is breaking the law, is wrong. Pure and simple. And I, for one, do not care what the excuse is.

Ken Swanson

Harbor

Thoughts on Black Panther Party

Editor:

I think I know why the Obama justice department does not want to prosecute the thugs in the new Black Panther Party for violating the Voting Rights Act.

Attorney General Eric Holder is so stupid he can’t even spell “cat” if you spot him the first two letters.

How do I know this? Eric Holder and the Obama justice department are suing Arizona even tough Eric Holder has admitted he has never even read the Arizona law.

Eric can’t read!

Am I bringing up the New Black Panther Party case because I am racist?

Hardly. I think the New Black Panther party is a poor imitation of the original Black Panther Party.

The original Black Panthers actually did some positive things for some people.

The New Black Panther Party has never done anything positive for anybody. They did their best to start a race riot down in North Carolina during the Duke rape case.

I am a supporter of Mumia Abu-Jamal. Mumia Abu-Jamal was a member of the original Black Panther Party and he is on death row for killing a cop in Philadelphia. This is a crime he did not commit.

Frank Serpico is the most honest cop who ever lived and he thinks that Mumia Abu-Jamal is innocent. Obama would give Mumia Abu-Jamal a pardon if he really cared about civil rights, but Iâ€ˆguess that Obama and Bill Clinton are too busy making excuses for Robert Byrd’s membership in the KKK.

Joe Thomas

Brookings

So many Warren Buffets in Curry!

Editor:

Some people with more than two nickels to rub together must consider themselves qualified to question the investment practices of elected officials relating to public funds.

Who knew we had so many Warren Buffets living in Curry County!

Luckily, public monies are not available for speculation. For good reason – speculation is risky. By law, public monies administered by appointed, hired or elected officials have to be safe. Accounts with less than $250,000 are insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC).

The State of Oregon requires any bank housing public dollars to have additional capital. In exchange for this additional capital and safety of public funds, the for-profit banks have to make a profit, otherwise there would be no reason to take the extra measures to safeguard these funds.

The county treasurer could account for interest earned as income and bank fees paid as an expense. At best, it is a wash. Instead, she accounted for the transactions as fees in lieu of interest which is fairly common and never raised the concern of auditors in the past. Common sense (which doesn’t require a college education) would indicate that the bank could make more in fees than the county could make in interest.

So unless we expect the treasurer to become a day trader, shopping around the limited number of banks for the best interest rate on a weekly or monthly basis, I would encourage all the Warren Buffets in Curry County to be satisfied that county funds are safe and adequately accounted for, and limit your investment skills to your own portfolio and not public funds.

Vikki Nuss CPA, member Curry County Budget Committee 2008-2010

Brookings

Make Brookings a dog-friendly place

Editor:

It is time for dog owners in Brookings to unite.

Our town needs a dog park. I believe the ideal location could be at park on Oak Street. It is not used by many people and there is an area that would be perfect to fence in as a dog park. As you well know by now, Brookings is not a very “dog friendly” town, yet there are many dog owners in the community.

Perhaps, we could get a petition together to get a dog park. It would be a good thing, as the county could check to see if dogs are licensed and have had their shots, and could enforce cleaning up after our dogs. It would also be good for the dogs: They can socialize in a safe area off leash without fear of being hit by a car. Also, people who do not like dogs will not have to complain about dogs in other parks ... and you know there are a lot of those people around and they can ruin an enjoyable walk with your dog.

I’d love to hear from other dog owners who are interested in this. You can email me at
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Let’s get together and see if we can make this happen.

Let’s make Brookings a dog friendly town.

Annie Prince

Brookings

Don’t worry, it’s a ‘Security’ fund

Editor:

Five years ago Peter DeFazio was making the security fund claim to Molly Walker, former owner of the Gold Beach Recorder.

Scott Graves has a copy of the article to prove what I’m about to say is fact, so don’t doubt it!

Peter DeFazio said “Social Security is not an investment it’s a Security.” He believes ultimately, “The system will work.” He continues, “40-50 years is a potential problem – but it isn’t a crisis.” His actual belief is that Social Security (SS) will be solvent for 75 years. He stated “Social Security is much more healthy than any other aspect of government.”

Those comments by Mr. DeFazio five years ago were because George W. Bush was trying to encourage smaller government and to privatize Social Security. Mr. DeFazio was traveling his district with a different take but knew what he was spouting was a lie. He knew it was a lie because he and his cronies used our trust fund as their piggy bank. One hundred and eighty five billion dollars was removed from Social Security last year alone!

Ever since the early 1980s, when the Greenspan Commission kicked the can down the road with a combination of tax increases and later retirement ages, analysts have been awaiting the day when the system would finally go up in flames.

The final date has been sliding around 2010 and 2016 for some years now, but the suspense is finally over, the system is going into deficit this year. The CBO (Congressional Budget Office) reports the permanent deep red year is 2018. The total amount removed from our “Security” is $2.51 trillion.

Thank you, Mr. DeFazio, for your well-thought-out analysis. We must vote him out! It’s time for accountability by DeFazio and Wyden.

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